When federal prosecutors announced on Aug. 12 that a former Cincinnati Children’s doctor had collected 150,000 images of children, including infants, being sexually abused, they said there wasn’t evidence the photos involved patients.
But the former doctor, Howard Saal, often photographed children “in the nude” during medical examinations, and with at least one patient, Saal referred to them as “glamour shots,” a new lawsuit alleges.
An attorney who is representing more than 50 former patients or parents of patients says there were concerns about Saal, who is 73, dating back many years. Some considered him “weird and kind of creepy,” the lawsuit says, but people trusted him, at least partly because of the reputation of Cincinnati Children’s.
The lawsuit, which was filed Aug. 15 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, also alleges that complaints about Saal were ignored by the hospital.
The lawsuit also includes an allegation that Saal “would feel children’s private parts during exams,” regardless of whether there was a medical issue or not.
‘Always had a camera bag’
It was common for Saal, who was a geneticist and studied birth defects, to have “a Nikon camera around his neck” that he used to photograph patients, the lawsuit says.
Saal “always had a camera bag with him in the examining room,” it says.
The lawsuit is seeking class-action status. The attorney who filed it, Alan Statman, told The Enquirer he already has heard from more than 100 people.
“There are a number of people saying they weren’t comfortable with …what was going on,” Statman said.
He expects to include additional allegations in upcoming court filings.
A Cincinnati Children’s spokesperson declined to comment, saying the hospital does not comment on litigation. Saal’s attorneys declined to comment.
Snapchat allegations
The mother of a 14-year-old girl, who was a patient of Saal’s her entire life, believes that Saal coerced the teen on Snapchat into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos, according to the lawsuit.
The girl apparently thought she was sending the photos and videos to a boy at her school. The person on Snapchat threatened to publish them if she stopped sending them.
Saal, 73, of Evendale, has been indicted on federal charges related to possessing child sexual abuse material. He is not charged with any crimes related to coercing children into sending sexually explicit material.
He is out on bond while the case proceeds. Saal surrendered his medical license on July 25, and on Aug. 13, the state medical board permanently revoked it.
This story was updated to add a response from Saal’s attorneys.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lawsuit: Ex-doctor in sex abuse images case also took photos of children
Reporting by Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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